Copy of the treaty made October 31, 1923 between his Majesty the King and the Chippewa Indians of Christian Island, Georgina Island and Rama

INDIAN TREATY

ARTICLES
OF A TREATY made and concluded on the thirty-first day of October, in
the year of Our Lord One thousand nine hundred and twenty-three, between
His Most Gracious Majesty, George the Fifth, of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India,
by His Commissioners: Angus Seymour Williams, of the City of Ottawa,
in the Province of Ontario, Esquire, Barrister-at-law, and Departmental
Solicitor of the Department of Indian Affairs; Robert Victor Sinclair,
of the said City of Ottawa, Esquire, One of His Majesty's Counsel, learned
in the law, and Uriah McFadden, of the City of Sault Sainte Marie, in
the said Province, Esquire, one of His Majesty's Counsel learned in
the law; the said Angus Seymour Williams, Chairman of the said Commission,
representing the Dominion of Canada, and the said Robert Victor Sinclair
and Uriah McFadden, representing the Province of Ontario, of the One
Part; and the Members of the Chippewa Tribe, inhabiting, as members
of Bands thereof, reserves at Christian Island, Georgina Island and
Rama, all in the Province of Ontario, by their Chiefs and Headmen, of
the Other Part.

WHEREAS, the Chippewa
Tribe above described, having claimed to be entitled to certain interests
in the lands in the Province of Ontario, hereinafter described, such
interests being the Indian title of the said tribe to fishing, hunting
and trapping rights over the said lands, of which said rights His Majesty
through His said Commissioners, is desirous of obtaining a surrender,
and for such purpose has appointed the said Commissioners, with power
on behalf of His said Majesty, to enquire into the validity of the claims
of the said tribe, and, in the event of the said Commissioners determining
in favour of the validity thereof, to negotiate a treaty with the said
tribe for the surrender of the said rights upon the payment of such
compensation therefor as may seem to the said Commissioners to be just
and proper:

AND WHEREAS the
said Commissioners, having duly made the said enquiry, have determined
in favour of the validity of the said rights.

AND WHEREAS the
Indians belonging to the said tribe, having been duly convened in council,
at the respective places named hereunder, and having been requested
by the said Commissioners to name certain chiefs and headmen to be authorized
on their behalf to conduct negotiations with the said Commissioners
for a surrender of the said rights and to sign a treaty in respect thereof
and to become responsible to His Majesty for the faithful performance
by the said tribe and by the respective bands thereof inhabiting the
said reserves, of such obligations as shall be assumed by them under
such treaty, the said Indians have therefore appointed for the purpose
aforesaid the several chiefs and headmen who have subscribed to this
treaty:

AND WHEREAS the
said Commissioners, acting under the powers in them reposed as aforesaid,
have negotiated the present treaty with the said tribe:

NOW THEREFORE THIS
TREATY WITNESSETH that the said tribe and the Indians composing the
same, occupying as members of bands the said reserves, by their chiefs
and headmen, duly authorized thereunto, as aforesaid, do hereby cede,
release, surrender and yield up to the government of the Dominion of
Canada for His Majesty the King and His Successors forever, all their
right, title, interest, claim, demand and privileges whatsoever, in,
to, upon, or in respect of the lands and premises described as follows,
that is to say:

FIRSTLY: All that
parcel of land situate in the Province of Ontario and described as commencing
on the northeasterly shore of Georgian Bay at that mouth of the French
River which forms the boundary between the District of Parry Sound and
the District of Sudbury; thence southerly and easterly along the shores
of Georgian Bay to that point on Matchedash Bay where the land included
in the surrender of the eighteenth day of November, 1815, of record
in Book of Surrenders, Volume I, is reached, and including all the islands
in the Georgian Bay waters in which the Indians making this treaty have
any interest; thence along the easterly limit of the said lands purchased
in 1815 to the Narrows between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe; thence
due east across the said Narrows; thence southerly and easterly following
the east side of the Narrows and the north shore of Lake Simcoe to the
foot of McPhee Bay off the northerly part of Lake Simcoe; thence by
a straight line easterly to a point thirty-three miles north of the
northwest corner of the Township of Rawdon measured along the division
line between the Counties of Hastings and Peterborough, which point
is the most western northwest corner of the parcel surrendered on the
twenty-eight day of November, 1822 (noted in Volume I of the Book of
Surrenders as number twenty-seven and one-quarter, 27¼); thence following
the north and west boundaries of the last mentioned parcel to the Ottawa
River; thence westerly along the interprovincial boundary to the mouth
of the Mattawa River; thence westerly by the waters of Mattawa River,
Talon Chute and Talon Lake, Turtle Lake, and Trout Lake to the westerly
point of Trout Lake; thence to the shore of Lake Nipissing at North
Bay; thence by the north shore of Lake Nipissing to the French River;
thence by those waters along the division line between the Districts
of Parry Sound and Sudbury to the place of commencement: Excepting thereout
and therefrom those lands which have already been set aside as Indian
Reserves. The parcel hereby surrendered contains seventeen thousand,
six hundred square miles, more or less.

SECONDLY: All that
parcel of land situate in the Province of Ontario and described as parts
of the Counties of Northumberland, Durham, Ontario and York, commencing
at the point where the easterly limit of that portion of the lands said
to have been ceded in 1787, which was confirmed on the first day of
August, 1805, of record as number thirteen in Volume I of the Book of
Surrenders, intersects the northerly shore of Lake Ontario; thence northerly
along the said easterly and northerly limits of the confirmed tract
to the Holland River; thence northerly along the Holland River and along
the westerly shore of Lake Simcoe and Kempenfelt Bay to the Narrows
between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe; thence southeasterly along
the shores of Lake Simcoe to the Talbot River; thence easterly along
the Talbot River to the boundary between the Townships of Victoria and
Ontario; thence southerly along that boundary to the northwest angle
of the Township of Darlington; thence along the northerly boundary line
of the Townships of Darlington, Clarke, Hope and Hamilton to Rice Lake;
thence along the southern shore of said lake to River Trent along the
River Trent to the Bay of Quinte; thence westerly and southerly along
the shore of the Bay of Quinte to the road leading to Carrying Place
and Wellers Bay; thence westerly along the northern shore of Lake Ontario
to the place of beginning; excepting thereout and therefrom those lands
which have already been set aside as Indian reserves. The land hereby
conveyed contains two thousand, five hundred square miles more or less.

AND ALSO all the
right, title, interest, claim, demand and privileges whatsoever of the
said Indians, in, to, upon or in respect of all other lands, situate
in the Province of Ontario to which they ever had, now have, or now
claim to have any right, title, interest, claim, demand or privileges,
except such reserves as have heretofore been set apart for them by His
Majesty the King.

TO HAVE AND TO
HOLD the same to His Majesty the King and His Successors forever:

AND THIS TREATY
FURTHER WITNESSETH that in consideration of the aforesaid surrender,
His Majesty, through His said Commissioners, hereby agrees, upon the
execution of a treaty similar to this treaty by the Mississauga tribe
inhabiting as members of bands, reserves at Rice Lake, Mud Lake, Scugog
Lake and Alderville, in the Province of Ontario, to pay to each member
of the said Chippewa tribe, being also a member of one of the said bands,
the sum of twenty-five dollars, to be paid through the Indian agents
for the respective bands, within a reasonable time after the execution
of the said treaties, and a further sum of -233,375.00 dollars - to
be administered for the said tribe by His Majesty's Department of Indian
Affairs under and pursuant to the provisions of the Indian Act, Revised
Statutes of Canada, 1906, Chapter 43 and its amendments: Making together
the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

AND THE UNDERSIGNED
chiefs and headmen, on their own behalf and on behalf of all the Indians
whom they represent, do hereby solemnly covenant, promise and agree
to strictly observe this treaty in all respects and that they will not,
nor will any of them, nor will any of the Indians whom they represent,
molest or interfere with the person or property of anyone who now inhabits
or shall hereafter inhabit any portion of the lands covered by this
treaty, or interfere with, trouble, or molest any person passing or
travelling through the said lands or any part thereof, and that they
will assist the officers of His Majesty in bringing to justice and punishment
any Indian, party to this treaty, who may hereafter offend against the
stipulations hereof or infringe the laws in force in the lands covered
hereby:

AND IT IS FURTHER
UNDERSTOOD that this treaty is subject to an agreement dated the day
of April, A.D. 1923, made between the Dominion of Canada and the Province
of Ontario, a copy of which is hereto attached.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF,
His Majesty's said Commissioners and the said chiefs and headmen have
hereunto set their hands and seals at the places and times hereinafter
set forth, in the year herein first above written.

SIGNED AND SEALED
at Georgina Island on the thirty-first day of October, A.D. 1923, by
His Majesty's Commissioners and the undersigned chiefs and headmen in
the presence of the undersigned witnesses, after first having been interpreted
and explained.

SIGNED AND SEALED at Christian Island on the third day of November, A.D. 1923, by His Majesty's Commissioners and the undersigned chiefs and headmen in the presence of the undersigned witnesses, after first having been interpreted and explained.

SIGNED AND
SEALED at Rama on the seventh day of November, A.D. 1923, by His Majesty's
Commissioners and the undersigned chiefs and headmen in the presence
of the undersigned witnesses, after first having been interpreted and
explained.

BETWEEN:
The Government of the Dominion of Canada, acting herein by the Honourable
Charles Stewart, Superintendent General of Indian Affairs,

of the first part,

AND

The Government
of the Province of Ontario, acting herein by the Honourable Beniah Bowman,
Minister of Lands and Forests for the said Province,

of the other part

WHEREAS certain
Indians of the Chippewa and Mississauga tribes claim that the said tribes
were and are entitled to a certain interest in lands in the Province
of Ontario to which the Indian title has never been extinguished by
surrender or otherwise, the said lands being described as parts of the
counties of Renfrew, Hastings, Haliburton, Muskoka, Parry Sound and
Nipissing, and being bounded on the south and east by the lands included
in the surrenders of the Indian title made on the 18th of November,
1815, the 5th of November, 1818, and November, 1822; on the north by
the Ottawa and Mattawa Rivers and Lake Nipissing, and on the west by
the lands included in the surrender of the Indian title made in 1850,
known as the Robinson-Huron surrender, and by the Georgian Bay, the
area in question including about 10,719 square miles.

AND WHEREAS a departmental
enquiry made by the Department of Indian Affairs indicates that the
said claim has such probable validity as to justify and require further
investigation, and if found valid to be satisfied on such just and fair
terms as may be settled by a treaty of surrender.

NOW THEREFORE THIS
AGREEMENT made in pursuance of certian statutes of Canada and of the
Province of Ontario, both intituled "an Act for the settlement of certain
questions between the Governments of Canada and Ontario respecting Indian
Lands," the Statute of Canada having been passed in the 54th and 55th
years of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria and chaptered 5, and
the statute of Ontario in the 54th year of Her Majesty's said reign
and chaptered 3.

WITNESSETH THAT
the Governments of Canada and of the Province of Ontario have agreed
as follows:

1. The Government
of Canada will, pursuant to Part I of the Enquiries Act, R.S.C., 1906,
c. 104, and amendments, appoint three persons as commissioners to enquire
into the validity of the claim of the Chippewa and Mississauga Indians
aforesaid, and will empower the said commissioners, in the event of
their determining in favour of the validity of the said claim, to negotiate
a treaty with the said Indians for the surrender of the said lands upon
payment of such compensation as may be fixed by such treaty.

2. Of the three
commissioners so named, one shall be selected by the Government of Canada,
who shall be Chairman of the Commission, and the remaining two shall
be selected by the Minister of Lands and Forests for the Province of
Ontario and notified to the Superintendent General of Indian Affairs.

3. The question
of the validity of said claim may be determined by any two of the said
Commissioners and it shall be necessary that at least two of them of
whom the chairman shall be one shall concur in any treaty which may
be negotiated.

4. The expenses
of the said commission, including the remuneration and expenses of the
commissioners and any expenses incurred for securing the attendance
of witnesses or otherwise, shall be payable by the Government of Canada,
but the rates of remuneration of each of the commissioners selected
by the Minister of Lands and Forests for the Province of Ontario shall
be agreed upon between him and the Superintendent General of Indian
Affairs before the Constitution of the Commission.

5. In the event
of the commissioners negotiating a treaty with the Indians the compensation
to be paid to such Indians shall be payable to the Dominion of Canada
by the Province of Ontario from time to time in accordance with the
terms of the treaty of surrender, and shall be applied by the Dominion
of Canada in accordance with the said terms.

6. In the event
of provision being made by such treaty of surrender for the setting
apart of reserves for the Indians, the Dominion of Canada will bear
the expense to be incurred in the location and survey thereof, and the
Province of Ontario will concur in the setting apart of such reserves.

7. All such reserves
shall be administered by the Dominion of Canada for the benefit of the
band or bands of Indians to which each may be allotted; portions thereof
may, upon their surrender for the purpose by the said band or bands,
be sold, leased or otherwise disposed of by letters patent under the
Great Seal of Canada, and the proceeds of such sale, lease or other
disposition applied for the benefit of such band or bands, provided,
however, that in the event of the band or bands to which any such reserve
has been allotted becoming extinct, or if for any other reason such
reserve or such portion thereof as remains undisposed of is declared
by the Superintendent General of Indian Affairs to be no longer required
for the benefit of the said band or bands, the same shall thereafter
be administered by and for the benefit of the Province of Ontario, and
any balance of the proceeds of the sale or other disposition of any
portion thereof then remaining under the control of the Dominion of
Canada shall, so far as the same is not still required to be applied
for the benefit of the said band or bands of Indians, be paid to the
Province of Ontario, together with accrued unexpended simple interest
thereon.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF
these presents have been signed by the parties thereto.

Signed and Delivered on behalf of theGovernment of Canada by the HonourableCharles Stewart, Superintendant Generalof Indian Affairs, in the presence of (Sgd.) W.J. Pratt.

(Sgd) Chas. Stewart

Signed and Delivered on behalf of theGovernment of the Province of Ontarioby the Honourable Benish Bowman, Minister of Lands and Forest for the said Province, in the presence of
(Sgd.) W.C. Cain